New research from the University of Georgia found that deer scrapes and rubs radiate a photoluminescence, or glow, under ultraviolet light. Researchers believe the glow is one way in which deer communicate with each other during dusk and dawn. While deer already use rubs and scrapes to communicate through scent, the glow may help deer leave messages to potential mates ahead of the breeding season.
“People have been hypothesizing about if this glow exists in the environment, but nobody had gone out yet to try and connect it to the deer until now,” said Daniel DeRose-Broeckert, corresponding author of the study and a graduate research associate in the UGA Deer Lab. “As we got closer to breeding season, those markings increased in visibility as deer prepared for it.”
This is the first study to quantify instances of environmental glowing and connect it to a biological function, according to a press release from the University of Georgia.
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